The company, which is based in Croydon in South London, said it had made a “substantial investment” in tyre shredding technology at its Beddington recycling centre to increase its tyre reprocessing capability, allowing it to turn 30 tonnes of tyres a day into rubber chippings.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Daryl Pearce, marketing manager at 777, said: “Landfills don't accept tyres anymore, so the best thing to do is to recycle them.”
Technology
The technology, based on magnetic extraction, will allow 777 to increase its foothold in the tyre recycling market, making it capable of producing between 15 and 20 tonnes of 20 mm rubber chippings a day which are then sold onto third parties for use in artificial flooring surfaces or to be further processed.
Mr Pearce said: “There is a lot of interest in the product, from places such as equestrian centres, all-weather surfaces at playgrounds, or overseas to China where it can be taken down even further.”
The company highlighted the innovative nature of the shredding technology it has installed, which was developed by Northamptonshire-based Systems 4 Recycling and possesses a magnetic unit capable of stripping 100% of wire from tyres to improve the quality of the end product.
Spent tyres from cars, trucks and larger plants are fed into a pre-shredder, which cuts tyres into 200ml strips before they are fed into the main shredder, which then further processes the tyres into 20ml strips. The strips are then passed under a magnet where metal wiring in the tyres is extracted.
The technology includes a secondary magnet which detects any metal that manages to bypass the system so the tyre can be fed back into the system and processed again.
The company offers a collection service for tyres, as well as accepting tyres delivered to the site from local businesses such as tyre fitters and garages. During commissioning stages 20,000 fly-tipped tyres were reprocessed on behalf of Croydon council.
Demolition
The firm, which has been involved in the demolition industry since the 1960s, has gradually integrated recycling into its operations over the last five years.
Mainly dealing with skip waste – partially generated by its own demolition projects – it uses the Beddington site to process the waste to create hardcore for aggregate and landfill cover, as well as separating out wood from construction waste which can then be used in biomass facilities.
Malcolm Beattie, manager of recycling at 777, told letsrecycle.com: “We've been recycling tyres for about three months and it's something that goes hand-in-hand with the job of recycling.”
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